KJones77 Reviews Animal Ambition

Hold On: 3.75/5
-This one is certainly a very laid back track as 50 seems pretty chill as he delivers his bars. The beat is suitably slow and chill as well. In terms of his bars, they are ok, but certainly nothing to write home about. Personally, I really like, “Used to do graffiti, now look we major / Don’t make me write my name across your face with a razor”, which also happens to be one of the few lines he really puts some energy behind. Overall, this is a solid intro track for 50’s first proper album in a while, but it certainly leaves much to be desired. Luckily, it is the closest to old 50 we have had in a while, so I cannot be too mad.

Don’t Worry ‘Bout It (ft. Yo Gotti): 3/5
–“That’s your bitch, I understand, I’ve seen it all on Instagram”, call me weird but I always hate when rappers name drop sites like Instagram. Comes off as awkward and like a cry for help of sorts. Anyways, you know times are hard when Yo Gotti renegades you, as he does here to 50. The hook is vintage 50, as his flow is good and his energy is top-notch on it. However, his bars are certainly not up to par with what Yo Gotti spit (I feel sick just saying that). They are not trash by any means, but could certainly be better. The beat is a bit annoying as it is all over the place and at times makes me think “damn this is hot”, but the constant, I do not know what to call it, but if you listen you will know what I mean since by “constant”, I mean it is throughout the whole song is undeniably annoying. This track is not horrible, but much like intro, it leaves a lot to be desired.

Animal Ambition: 3.75/5
-Largely just used as an exercise for 50 to spit some hot bars as the hook is pretty much just thrown in there to take up space in between his verses and is nothing to write home about. Here, 50’s flow is very good and his bars, for the most part, hit pretty well. He has certainly spit better verses than these two, but I like them nonetheless. However, the main concern when it comes to 50 is his beats since he is certainly not noted for his lyricism and, here, the beat is nothing more than ok. I think it works well with the flow 50 uses and stuff, but it certainly is nothing like old 50 circa GRODT. Now, I get that he has to change as an artist, but that is no reason to regress. With a better beat, this one could be a standout.

Pilot: 3.5/5
-For starters, I am not a huge fan of the hook. It is honestly pretty shitty. 50’s delivery is iffy on it and then the repeating portions are more annoying than catchy. Unfortunately, since it is the hook, it takes up a good portion of this track and no matter how good the verses are, it is disappointing knowing that we have to return to that hook at the end of each verse. However, both verses from 50 are very well done. Towards the end of his second verse, his delivery changes a bit and I am not a fan of it. However, for the entire first verse and for the majority of the second, his flow/delivery are very good and his bars work well. The beat is also not stellar, but ultimately, it gets the job done. For 50, I want better beats, but I guess this works to a small degree.

Smoke (ft. Trey Songz): 2.5/5
-You can tell this is a Dre beat and the song is better for it undoubtedly. However, it is not Dre’s best work in the least and really is a disappointment. I really hope this was a track that was just left off of Detox or something that 50 thought was hot because it is probably my least favorite one here. I typically like Trey Songz' hooks, but here, it leaves a lot to be desired. On top of that, as I said the beat is not great and then 50’s bars are simply stupid. We got, she’s got a big ass, I do not think this requires a whole song though, no? This album was intended to be used as hype for Street King Immortal, but I certainly do not feel hyped.

Everytime I Come Around (ft. Kidd Kidd): 3.75/5
-Now this is a track that inspires hope, if only because of the hook, as “Ring around the rosies, pockets full of OZ’s” is the best creative thing to come out of 50 since 2005. However, whoever told Kidd Kidd that he is dope needs to be given a hearing aid, because they are deaf as hell. Thank God the hook is dope and 50’s verse delivers or else this one would be a total bummer. The beat is pretty dope as well and really helps me to forget Kidd Kidd’s attempt to rap. Any beat that can accomplish that feat is pretty amazing in my books.

Irregular Heartbeat (ft. Jadakiss & Kidd Kidd): 4.25/5
-Ya, this one is definitely the standout track on this album. Dope beat for starters (really makes you feel your heartbeat) and 50’s whisper rapping is really used effectively here. The bars he spits are hot as well, in particular, “You think my rap shit a gimmick, I ain’t seen parole in a minute / Truth be told these niggas is hoes / Once the shit set off, man, anything goes / Through the windows of your soul, the eyes never lie / If you ain’t scared to die, nigga, why would you cry?”. The hook is also top-notch and while I prefer the hook on the last track, it certainly shows that 50’s hook game has not left him entirely. Jadakiss also has a solid guest turn here and keeps the dark mood moving. Kidd Kidd, meanwhile, please stop.

Hustler: 2.75/5
-Really, this one seemed promising when I first heard it. I do not know why I tricked myself into thinking this would be some really dope old school 50 type shit, but it was really anything but. Rather, the hook is meh at best. I am not a huge huge fan of his delivery, but it works ok. However, his bars and delivery on his verses are pretty bad. There is not much to talk about here, other than this one being relatively disappointing. There may not be any clearly strong tracks, but this one is one of many disappointing tracks.

Twisted (ft. Mr. Probz): 3.75/5
-Mr. Probz' voice is ok at best, but really, somebody better for the hook could be found. 50’s verses here though, are really quite good. When I heard the inclusion of “turn up” in the hook at the beginning, I expected another wannabe club banger like “Don’t Worry Bout It”. However, when the beat calms down and 50 starts off his first verse, this one becomes one of the better tracks here, honestly, minus the hook from Mr. Probz. The hook throughout is fine (though I prefer the low-key beat on the verses that allows 50 to spit without the beat stealing the spotlight at all). If the hook was a bit better, I could appreciate this track more, but if 50 could work out the kinks in this one, I would undoubtedly be very satisfied with it. As it stands, I am happy to see this one not be totally disappointing.

Winners Circle (ft. Guordan Banks): 3.5/5
-For starters, the hook by Guordan Banks is actually pretty good. It is far from great, but it works well for this inspirational-type track. However, for 50, I am not really feeling his bars. While his drug and gangsta schtick can certainly get old at times, he is certainly in his element there. However, here, he sounds also unconfident at times and does not have his typical swagger. His flow is fine, but he is lacking the energy that makes his songs what they typically are. The beat is nothing to write home about, but gets the job done. It feels like your standard beat with nothing extra added to it, but nothing is wrong with simple if it works well. This track is certainly not a black eye for the album, but, much like a lot of this one, leaves quite a bit to be desired. Where is 50.

Chase the Paper (ft. Prodigy, Kidd Kidd & Styles P): 3.5/5
-Fuck you Kidd Kidd. Nah, he is actually ok here (i.e. not utter trash). Lots of guys get trotted out here, but I do not know what it is, this one just does not feel exceptional in any way whatsoever. None of it is necessarily bad, but I guess this one is a microcosm for the whole album. Lots of interesting pieces, solid beat, solid bars from all, solid hook, etc, but none of it is great. The song is nothing more than ok and almost leaves you disappointed due to its unexceptionalness.

38/55 –> 3.45/5

I do not know why I ever let myself believe this one would turn out alright. When I first heard tracks like “Hold On” and “The Funeral” (on the deluxe edition of this one), I was hopeful. Neither were phenomenal tracks, but they were definitely some of the best tracks from 50 in years. Tracks like “Irregular Heartbeat” and “Everytime I Come Around” also work really well and only serve to make the lows here all the more disappointing. Unfortunately, even those “highs” are not really all that high, rather they are just pretty good and are acceptable tracks. Meanwhile, tracks such as “Don’t Worry Bout It”, “Hustler”, and “Smoke”, are clear lows here and really underscore my disappointment. Now, as a whole, the album is not bad I guess, but it certainly does not make me hyped for [i]Street King Immortal[/i] like 50 Cent is hoping it will. Rather, it makes me even more skeptical about his ability to deliver a quality record in 2014.

I came up with this on a whim and thus far, whenever I rate an album using this system, I wind up happy with this final number. I included examples of albums that I have given that rating in parentheses next to the rating.